England 'need Tyson Fury mentality' to beat France as Southgate urged to be brave

talksport.com, 8 December 2022, 09:32

England have been told to look at Tyson Fury for inspiration as they prepare to take on France in the World Cup quarter-finals.

One man who knows what it's like to face Les Bleus at this winter's tournament is Rene Meulensteen - the former Manchester United assistant and now first-team coach of the Australia national team who faced France in the group stages.

The Aussies were ultimately beaten 4-1 in their encounter with the trophy holders, but only after they stunned France into action when the underdogs opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes.

Meulensteen admits France's quality was just too much for Australia to handle despite their promising start where everything went to plan.

But he insists England are more than capable of knocking out the holders - so long as Southgate is 'brave' with his team selection and tactics.

And the coach says they should look to heavyweight boxing champion and comeback king Fury as their inspiration for the huge clash, insisting attack is the best form of defence against Kylian Mbappe and co.

"I don't think England need to go to five at the back," he told talkSPORT Breakfast.

"That wouldn't be my approach for England with what they've got. I honestly believe Gareth has to be really brave.

"We [Australia] had a really good 30 minutes against them. With Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud they are not a high-pressing team, so England need to take advantage and isolate the forwards from the two midfield players.

"The main thing is when France build-up England have to press high and make sure you don't leave Mbappe alone, because they can break very quickly.

"You have to be on the front foot to make it difficult for France and see what you can do, rather than try and contain them.

"I would really love to see England go, 'Come on'.

"You know what England really need to have? They need to have a Tyson Fury mentality.

"They need to adopt a Tyson Fury mentality to beat France, and then they can go a very long way at the World Cup."

Read full version: https://talksport.com/football/1270952/england-france-tyson-fury-gareth-southgate-team-world-cup-quarter-final/

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England 'need Tyson Fury mentality' to beat France as Southgate urged to be brave

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